Gustis Garden Bungalows Ubud

... we're talking a 10m deep cavern here. During the day this meant all the daytripper traffic was diverted and it was gridlock!

Not a problem for pedestrians, we managed to wander about just fine and enjoy the huge selection of cafes and gaze in amazement at the prices in some of the swankier places! It was also a chance for Sarah to get a haircut, Martyn to brave a rural barber shop and for us to use that ...

... that just seems to go back further than you think it would. You can hear frogs and birds without all the street noise. I had corn soup and a salad with tuna and avacado and Gary ate gazpacho and twice baked potatoes. The chef trained in Santa Cruz, and the menu was eclectic. We got our desert to go as we wanted to try to catch a dance performance. The event was cancelled so we had an early night.

... 8217;ve nearly perfected our stone “no faces” and when our two Dutchie friends pull-up beside us on their motorbikes, we answer “no thanks” without even glancing up. They have to drive directly in front of us before we realize our mistake hopping on the backs of their motorbikes en route to the Jazz Club, the only live music joint in town. And so…we passed on our last night in Ubud. On to the northern coast of Bali and lovely Lovina.

... in Australia and The States too.

We try the different coffees and teas they have on sale. To be fair no pressure or obligation to buy anything either. All very nice.

Yes we tried it. Had to pay a few bucks for it though. Tasted like coffee oddly.

To bid a fond farewell to this beautiful town we used one of the many spas available here. On arrival I was presented with a pair of hospital pants, the mesh things, and told to ...

... street with a cheap looking sign outside, I was hesitant about the place at first. Those hesitations disappeared in about two seconds when we stepped into the "lobby" or the restaurant/bar/main area. The staff greeted us warmly, showed us to our room, room number 3 out of a total of 4, and brought us "welcome drinks," wonderful fresh pineapple juices. Flowers hanging off the tips of the branches of trees shaded the little pool, and ...

Dance! I love dance. It's one of the main reasons I came here for holiday. Dance is an integral part of Balinese culture. It is considered another way of making offerings to the gods. Every night in Ubud there are about 10 performances. And each in an atmospheric venue, like a temple or home. More about the architecture later. There are several different types of dance in ...

... were both just laughing and hooting at the joy of it. Another mentionable was being caught just a little on the inside of a sneaker set that marched down the reef in perfection during late dusk. I was scrambling to get one of the beasts and I swung and dropped into one and was instanlty pitted and just shocked at the realization that this could be the best wave of my life if I could just.... smack. I was clipped as I was sneaking out of the pit."Aaargh!!!!" "It's O.K ...

... the story! In the afternoon, we do the coral garden drift dive, again from our own shore. We find a barracuda, with teeth bigger than ours. I approach it as close as I dare for the picture!!! We really dive in an aquarium: it is difficult to take a picture of Dr T without a fish in between. Did we do anything beside the diving and the obvious? Hubby found a huge lizard on the wall of our room. I believed it was a real one. When he was still ...

... up for a night on the town. After the bar at our hotel, we all have dinner at his favorite place, "Macaroni". Macaroni is a very posh place with a DJ and wonderful food. Juliano even bought the table 2 bottles of wine: very generous for a backpackers budget! He so wanted to party. From Macaroni, we went up to the Skygarden and from there, to Bounty where we danced the night away. We are with one crazy ...